It's a Holly-Jolly... Diwali?

Hmm there's something not quite right about that... Somehow I can't picture my Kenny or Harry singing songs about the Hindu festival of lights, but it's quite a celebration over here in India.  According to Wikipedia, The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of deepavali which translates into "row of lamps".  Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. It's been a loud few days and poor Dynamo is pretty glad the cracker bursting (fireworks) have subsided.  These Indians aren't joking around with Black Cat firecrackers.  These guys are shooting of M-80 type stuff... loud and frequent.  We tried to have conversations Saturday night inside the apartment and just had to wait until all the popping was done, which took several minutes many of the times.  It was very difficult to sleep Friday and Saturday during the day, so I wasn't in a very cheerful mood for the celebrations.  Luckily, my celebration included a few margaritas and Mexican food with the Toms and their wives to lift my spirits, while Savannah spent time with her "foster" family, the Achesons.  
Friday was "ethnic wear" day at work, so I told the team if they would wear their traditional dress then I would wear a saree.  What was I thinking?  This is only the second time I have worn one, the first being that hotttttttt wedding I attended and I guess I was only focused on the heat and sweat of that day, so I was not quite prepared for all the work involved in sporting one to the office.  I go in early on Fridays, and Savannah's fever was breaking.  If I hadn't promised the team I'd be wearing it, I would have donned jeans.  Lakshmi was running late and I needed her help to wrap it.  I tried to watch a YouTube video, but was too frazzled with Savannah not feeling well, so I waited for her to arrive.  She was more than happy to help, but it took her three tries, about 15 minutes each, to feel satisfied with the end result.  I am quite a bit taller than her, so I had to sit on the couch while she adjusted the folds on the top and pinned it to my blouse on the third try.  Apparently the height was the issue.  In any event, she completed the challenge and the white girl was in the saree, all Indian'd up for the night.  She looked like a proud mom as I left for work.  It was pretty funny.  I passed a few of my neighbors and several people smiled widely and said hello... which is not the norm.  Then I got to the office and entered the lift with a few other ladies, a couple in sarees of their own, looking very pretty.  They all complimented me and wanted to know if I had folded it (dressed) myself.  I laughed, told them no, and we exchanged Diwali wishes as they exited to their floors.  I made it to my desk with approving nods from the security guards and the team was happy to see me Indianized for the night.  I had a couple conference calls and we had a photo session with the team.   It was dang hard to work in that thing, so it probably wasn't my most productive night at work since I've been in India...

The great One Team - NAM Imports

We are missing a few team members who took off for the holiday and Asif (my co-mng) who was out spending time with his wife and new baby girl. 
                                  
Outside of the Diwali celebrations, not a whole lot of excitement going on over here... still in a holding pattern for Savannah's school.  Waiting on the Florida director to e mail me back and confirm to me and her school that she can, indeed, graduate this year.  Anyone in the Tampa area want to drop by and ask them to please answer an e mail or a phone call?  And we've been dealing with her being sick.  Again.  I swear I think she is just too careless and doesn't pay attention enough, resulting in ingestion of this bad water.  We went to the doctor on Wednesday because of her fever... which followed headache and vomiting.  I was convinced she had Dengue Fever, which is really ugly and not infrequent over here these days.  While I appreciate having the world at my fingertips, sometimes Google is more of a hindrance than a help. Especially when I use it to confirm my worst suspicions... Yep.  She's got the Dengue.  Fortunately, after a visit to the doctor, Dengue (and my medical degree via the Googler) was ruled out.  Diagnosis was low BP, likely due to a virus.  Treat it with Tylenol (from the US, since that's what we had) and lots of juice and water. Thursday and Friday she was in bed all day.  Saturday she woke up feeling better and has been fine until tonight... We got home and less than an hour later, she's vomiting and has a fever.  Ugh.  Hopefully she will get well quickly and we will get a positive call from the school in Florida.
As we begin this month that Americans use to express our gratitude, we are reminded that the end of the year and our trip home is rapidly approaching (for which we are thankful).  My niece, Kameryn, turns five years old today.  Savannah was a little down that she isn't there to help celebrate, but it won't be long and we'll see her for Christmas.  And then it will be 2014... the year we go back to the US.  Not a lot of time left, so we need to make the most of it.  Travel, time with friends and decisions about "what's next?" to be pondered.  I know God led us here, although not exactly clear as to why yet... but we trust him enough to know whatever He has planned is more than enough.  
Wishing our local friends a Happy Diwali and sending thoughts of love and gratitude to all our friends and family around the world.  Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated, as always!

Happy Birthday, Kameryn!

Finallllllly! My first Indian wedding!!

Well, it actually wasn't the wedding ceremony, or "marriage" as it's referred to here.  We went to the reception.  It was for Suresh, the very sweet driver for Tom & Cherie, our American friends.  Since we've arrived I've been super excited to attend a wedding because they are extremely grand and full of tradition.  There are three major religions here, Hindu, Muslim and Christianity and the reception we attended was Hindu.  Savannah had already attended one Hindu reception with some other friends of ours and told me that I was not going to love it.  It would be loud and hot and the food would be rushed.  So I prepared myself, but was still excited to wear my sari and immerse myself in the culture for the night.  We started the preparations by having Lakshmi come early and help wrap us up.  A sari is basically a blouse and a long piece of material.  Savannah's ghagra dress is more of a half sari, with a long skirt, a blouse, and a shorter piece of material as a wrap.  Since the reception was in the evening we paired our dresses with sparkling jewelry.  After we were all wrapped up and wondering how the local Indian women do this daily, we set off toward the other side of the city with Cherie and picked up Tom from work on the way.  Cherie and I shared a bottle of sparkling moscato en route (Bonus! We always have a DD in India!) and Savannah reminded us, once more, of what was to come.  We made it and seated ourselves close to the stage.  Oh, I should tell you this was a double-reception.  Suresh, Tom & Cherie's driver, and his sister both got married this morning and celebrated this evening.  So we were near Suresh and his bride's stage and sat visiting for a while.  The music had not yet begun, but the live band was gearing up, testing echo-y mics and beginning to beat the drums a bit.  We strategically placed ourselves between a few fans, since there was no AC and we are moving into the peak of summer here.  When I checked the temp today it was 93 but felt like 102 Fahrenheit.  So... yeah, pretty hot out.  Shortly after 7 Suresh and his bride came and stopped to say hello.  They walked from the front to the back and then back to the front, again, and finally, onto the stage.  Immediately, one of the aunties came over and herded us up to the stage.  It is traditional for the bride and groom to take photos with every guest.  Actually, this is the majority of the reception.  We were, fortunately, among the first group to take our pictures and then we were escorted upstairs to eat.  We met Gideon and his family on the way to eat and they joined us.  Wedding meals are served on a banana leaf and generally include at least a rice, some chutneys, a bread (such as naan or chapatti) and some gravies.  Tonight we had white rice, veg biryani, chapatti, a couple chutneys, gravies, ice cream, rice curd and another sweet I could not figure out.  We were well taken care of, with servers coming by frequently to make sure we had everything we needed.  As we ate, we watched a steady flow of guests coming, eating and leaving as quickly as they could so others could make their way.  We were slow, apparently.  And it was H O T upstairs.  Like, dripping sweat hot.  Like, how in the WORLD do these ladies wear all this material when it's 100+ outside and no fans and few windows on this second floor?  Like, OMG finish your food, Savannah, so we can go back downstairs!  So, we finally finished and wondered what was next.  We went downstairs and sat ourselves in a somewhat less crowded area of the hall.  This reception was expecting between 1,000-1,200 guests but since we arrived pretty early it wasn't quite that crowded yet.  We sat for a while but did not see anything else going on.  The band was in full swing and it was loud, so loud that we couldn't chat, so we just people-watched. In just a few minutes, Gideon made his way to us and told us Suresh's sister wanted us in a photo with her.  Ummm, OK.  I mean, we don't know her or the groom, but sure.  So we walked on her stage, smiled and took a few pictures.  Then Gideon said it was OK to leave and that was about all.  No dancing, no cake-cutting, no toast, no bouquet toss, no bridesmaids and groomsmen.  Pictures, food, sweating, music, and more pictures. Interesting evening and really appreciate Suresh and his family's hospitality for inviting us to join on this special occasion.  
In other news, Savannah will be 16 on Saturday.  That makes me feel really old, because it sure does make me sound like a young mom since I am only 29.  And holding... She's feeling a little blue being away from her friends she grew up and not able to celebrate her "Sweet 16" as she thought she would.  This year will be low-key.  I will try to work a little early on Friday so I can wake up at a normal time Saturday for brunch and then a facial (her first!) and gel nails at the spa, then a dinner with Tom & Cherie - Tom will be 61 on May 4 as well.  They think it's pretty cool - 16 and 61.  And this year, my sweet girl has asked that gifts are made to the Home of Hope  either in the form of monetary donations or supplies she can use for teaching English to the boys.  She would like to bring in enough to buy a TV and DVD player so she can get some English movies and lessons for the boys to watch when she's not around to speak fluently.  After her Indian birthday celebrations, my parents and Michael will come in (YAYYYY!!) and we'll head to Singapore and Malaysia for a week of sight-seeing and relaxation.  We are pretty excited about it and CAN NOT WAIT to see everyone!
Here are some pics of our night out & dinner.  Hope everyone is doing well.  We love and miss you!

Lakshmi wrapping Savannah's ghagra

More wrapping

And even more wrapping...

Poor Lakshmi was wrapping forever.....

She told Savannah, "Mommy wear sari office daily."  Uh no.  Too much work!  LOL

Suresh and his bride's stage

Savannah and me waiting

Savannah and Cherie (her Indian grandma)

The bride and groom

Eating our wedding dinners

Cherie, Tom, Gideon & his daughter

Gideon's older daughter, wife, and younger daughter

Our meal, pretty good!!

Cheers!

A meltdown, shopping and church

It's been quite a week for us.  What started out feeling pretty normal quickly turned into crisis.  Anyone who knows or knew a 15-year old can understand how this happens.  I guess between hormones, bottled up emotions and the stress of semester exams all week, she was bound to blow.  I knew since we had gotten back from the US holiday she had been down.  She was quieter than usual, missing her friends and dance team more recently than before the trip, just not herself.  Last Saturday last week she decided to skip an optional school function (a celebration of the Indian Republic Day) and not tell me.  This resulted in some chaos and panic because she missed her ride home and I had to make arrangements for a car to pick her up.  It was a planned day off for our driver, and putting her in an auto was not safe or realistic for the long distance from the campus to our flat and even a service like Fast Track wasn't safe without someone else with her.  So... can you guess what I did? Yep, I called Gideon.  Fortunately, he was able to send a car to get her and put it on my work tab.  Quite an ordeal and she and I had words when she got home and she went to her room for the evening.  We did not talk a lot on Sunday or Monday.  I was pretty angry for her changing plans without telling me, which resulted in a lot of unnecessary stress and coordination from me, Gideon, and her front office staff.  She was pretty fed up with India, come to find out.  Tuesday we talked about the possibility of sending her back to the US.  Were we really to that point?  Was it possible that my daughter was ready to call this adventure off and go back to America?  I couldn't believe it.  I was sad.  Hurt.  Scared.  Still frustrated, but mostly worried.  Tuesday night I went to work in a bit of a fog.  Worked and took care of business, but had a gnawing feeling in the back of my mind.  What would I do?  
Wednesday she came home and I didn't go to the gym because  I needed to talk to her.  We had to figure this out.  She had culture shock from the return trip home.  I knew it, but I also knew she was stronger than the emotions and could tough it out.  Well, after a little bit of talking, it turned into crying.  Sobbing.  Teenage hysteria.  She HAD to move back to the US because school was terrible, she doesn't have friends outside of the four to five people in her class, who she never sees outside of school, we don't go anywhere and she is SO different than everyone here.  People talk about her in the local language, people stare, she will never fit in and she wants to be back where the is the norm.  Of course, I felt like the biggest loser mom on the planet since I prevented none of this.  I saw her being sad and didn't do anything about it.  So, working to fix the situation, and since it was time for me to leave and she was still not OK for me to leave, I told my boss I needed to stay home that night.  I worked from home online after she went to bed. She still wasn't much better when it was time to sleep.  Rough night.  My co-manager suggested that I take off and/or work from home for the rest of the week to spend some quality time with my girl.  At first I thought there was no way, it has been so busy, but the more I thought about it, I had to make sure she knew she was my priority.  So, a little reluctantly, but knowing it was the right decision, I asked for the rest of the week off with the intention of signing on after she went to bed and staying up with e mails and being available on IM.  It worked out well.
Thursday afternoon she came home from school and sat down to do some studying.  I told her I was off and asked if she wanted to go to dinner.  Somewhat begrudgingly, she agreed and we went to a new place that Gideon recommended.  It was amazing.  Pricier than my cheap self would pay normally, but it was nice to go somewhere new and enjoy a terrific meal in a wonderful ambiance.  We talked for a bit and eventually reached an agreement that she would stay here and complete the school year.  It is through April, so that is only three months and she can decide then what she will do.  She wasn't thrilled about the deal - really was ready to hop on a plane this weekend - but I think she would regret it later in life.  I know it's hard now.  But I know the end result of this will be life changing for both of us, and only in good ways.
OK let's fast forward because you know I can't tell a short story.  Thursday night, dinner, talk, bed for her, work for me. Friday night, went to visit our friend Tom's wife, Cherie (the Americans who moved here from Copenhagen in Dec.) and then dinner again, at a place of her choice, bed for her and work for me.
Saturday we had plans with Maggie and Diana from our office to take us around shopping, try to find a new school uniform tailor for Savannah and see some areas we have not visited yet (there's a lot of those to be seen!).  So at noon we were in the car and heading towards Velachery to pick up Diana.  Savannah was excited to see a McDonald's and plans to return soon LOL.  With Diana in the car, we headed toward Egmore to meet Maggie for some shopping of materials to have a selvar made for Savannah.  And, as it turned out, for me, too.  We enjoyed a great fresh juice shop (twice, it was so good) and even tried our first tender coconut juice.  It was pretty tasty and we know it's so good for us, we even ate the inside, which was an interesting texture.  A little slimy, but not much taste to it.  After we had our materials in hand, we went to be measured by the tailor.  We had to select the style and collar shape and length and I don't know what else.  Thank goodness for Maggie and Diana to tell us what is "in fashion" (Savannah was so worried about that!) and what would look nice on us.  After the tailor we went over toward Parrys (pronounced Paris) for some more shopping, but first a stop on the way at Chennai's most famous place for omelet bread.   Mmmm this was some GOOD STUFF.  So we had our snack and were ready for some serious shopping.  While in India, I am bound and determined to go to a wedding.  I would really like to go to A LOT of weddings, but it's been seven months and I haven't made one yet.  Our Kenya expat has been to TWO and she came after me!  I am sad.  And maybe a little jealous.  So I told my comanagers to hook me up, and apparently our issue is that we work overnights when these things are happening...  So I will be scoping out all the upcoming weddings and seriously considering just walking into one if an invite doesn't happen soon...  It's "marriage season" right now and EVERY weekend (Thurs/Fri nights) we see lots and lots of marriages taking place.  On the ECR we travel often, we have seen brides and grooms in a horse drawn carriage two weeks in a row!  We pass the entrance sign and I tell Savannah, "Ohhhh let's go crash it! You know they won't kick the white girls out."  And she rolls her eyes.  But the driver knows I am intrigued and every time he sees one, he says, "Madam, marriage.  Look."  I bet one day he pulls over and tells me, "Come" and we walk in.  LOL  
Anyway, since I want to go to a wedding/marriage ceremony, I figure I need to be ready at a moment's notice and decided to buy a sari and came home with a beautiful blue one, kind of like this. And FINALLY my fair skin worked in my favor.  The shop owner was telling Maggie one price (all in Tamil) and she was holding firm it should be less, quite a bit less.  After him telling her since she is his sister (Indian) why would he give her such a price?  But since it was for me, the American, he is happy to reduce the price.  What???  Yay for this working in my favor for once!!  So then we went across the way and bought fancy jewelry to go with it...  And we bought Savannah an age-appropriate dress that she wanted for when I drag her along to a wedding.  I can't find a proper picture of it since I cannot remember what it's called, but it is a three piece suit with a flowy skirt, kinda looks like this on the left in the blue.  Hers is purple and pink.  She finally decided after hitting about 5 shops and me agreeing to pay more than I set out to pay - but still knowing it was a good price because it was a wholesale area and Maggie said it was worth every rupee.  Plus it was after 9PM and we were starving and tired.  We'll take pics and post them for sure.  Hopefully SOON, just have to invite myself to a wedding.  haha  We are VERY thankful to Maggie and Diana sacrificing their day and sleep to show us around and take us shopping. I should mention that Savannah and I would have NEVER been able to do all these things on our own... We maybe could have handled the material and selvar portion, but no way for the sari and all that other stuff part.  The area we went to is considered "tough" even for locals.  It is SO CROWDED (even more than T. Nagar, I think!) and the streets are tiny, filled with people, cars, bikes, autos, regular rickshaws, cows, and more people.  Amazing.  Savannah mentioned a couple times she felt like she was in a movie.  Quite surreal.  We're very fortunate and thankful for Diana and Maggie!
Holy moly this is long and there's one more story to tell.  If you're bored you can pretend like this is intermission.  Go stretch your legs, get some popcorn and come back in a little while.  I promise the ending will be worth it.  
Gideon knew we were missing our church home and the few churches we had visited here did not feel "right" for us.  They were very formal, although protestant, felt Catholic-like, with mass and all.  Not our scene.  So we haven't gone in a very long time.  But this weekend he suggested a place where is brother goes.  And I took him up on it.  OK, let's do it.  5PM Sunday afternoon service, across town, but I am in.  So we made car arrangements and headed to Nungambakkam (yep, Nungambakkam) and went to meet Soloman for service.  I was a little nervous.  We made it there (after about an hour's drive) and met Soloman out front.  We walked up some stairs, around a corner, through a small area and came to an opening.  As we walked up the stairs I heard one of my favorite worship songs, "I am Free," complete with drums and electric guitar.  Savannah saw my face light up and quietly warned me not to embarrass her.  I was so excited.  Relieved.  Instantly knew we were in the right place.  So we walked in, finished the song and sang to a couple more.  It felt great.  Then the pastor, a Canadian named Eric, gave the sermon based on the theme, "Greater."  God wants us to be greater than we are.  He used the story of Abraham (earlier called Abram) and Genesis 12:1, which says:
The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your land, your relatives, and your father's home. Go to the land that I will show you.
And Pastor Eric explained that Abraham did not want to leave his familiar country, family, and everything, but he had faith in God and knew this is what he must do.  On a much smaller scale, this is what we did.  We followed God's will, which brought us to Chennai.  So, as I always do, I cried. And cried.  And when I thought I was done crying, I just cried more.  Not sobbing crying, but tears running down my face like someone turned on the water faucet and I couldn't shut it off.  Partly because I could relate, partly because I knew this is probably exactly what Savannah needed to hear, but mostly because I am so thankful that He sends His messages just when we need them.  God KNEW we needed affirmation and confirmation that we are in the right place, following His wishes for us.  And he sent us to this church to hear this message at this perfect time.  When we were struggling and questioning our reasons for being here.  The pastor followed up with a few more verses that really resonated with me, but the other one that sticks in my mind is Hebrews 11:8:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
That is exactly what Savannah and I did... and he even slipped my very favorite verse in there, well, the beginning of it, anyway - Jeremiah 29:11:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I know this has been a long post, and if you're still reading, thank you.  I am so thankful for the great friends and family we have around the world cheering us on.  This was a hard week.  Maybe the hardest so far, because I saw my baby girl's heart breaking and saw the suffering and could not do anything about it except pray.  And pray I did.  And ask for prayers, so I did that as well.  God sent us to find a church family, and I think we have.  I see good things coming our way and ask for your continued prayers, good vibes and all around thoughts of positivity and God's favor while we are here. 
Sending you blessings of God's love from Chennai.  And for all those football fans watching the Superbowl in a few hours, 49'ers beat the Ravens!